In the Dark
by Like A Thief In The Night
Summary: At another of Sakura's awful parties, the drunk Tenten is seduced by a mysterious shinobi in the dark. Now, going on the clues he has left her with, Tenten has to find out his identity if she ever wants that night to continue. KakaTen. Lots of lemons and limes and the like.
1. 1: In the Dark

Tenten found herself playing a game she hadn't even thought about since she was eleven years old and Neji had practically suffocated her behind the bike shed. That idea of a calm, sophisticated affair, where eligible shinobi stood drinking wine and nibbling on those weird pineapple things Sakura claimed were canapés were deteriorating faster than her last C-rank pay check.

Sophisticated shinobi drinking wine? Where on earth did she get that idea? Of course, when Sakura had invited her to this house-warming, match-making... thing... of hers she'd known that it wasn't going to be nearly as high-class as that Hyuuga soiree they'd attended; and not nearly as boring, either. But this... all this did was create nightmarish, preteen flashbacks.

As it was, Tenten felt ridiculous. Despite it being a free night for many of the shinobi there, Tenten had stuck to her usual ninja garb, as had many. Still, it was funny how you could place a bottle in the middle of a room and suddenly all the hardened, death-dealing shinobi morphed into a gang of unruly adolescents, hooting and howling and elbowing each other. Sakura's cheeks were pink as she giggled with Ino who was slyly (and don't think Tenten hadn't noticed) slipping towards Neji on her right; and there was Shikamaru half-leaning against Chouji with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth that Tenten just wanted to pluck and have for herself.

Some bint that had been in the year above them, Akane or something, spun the empty rum bottle and everyone roared when the narrow end settled on Kiba. Poor Kiba, thought Tenten, not at all sympathetically as the short, vicious kunoichi crawled, giggling towards the centre of the large circle. She went as red as her hair when Kiba met her in the middle and they briefly touched lips. There was an awkward moment when the woman tried to deepen the kiss and Kiba lurched backwards, but she managed to pull it off as just a drunken stumble.

God, this was pathetic. From the blushing twenty-something kunoichi to the silently jealous Hinata (jealous for Kiba? Jealous for Naruto? Was that girl going to make up her mind? Tenten was astonished at how well she remembered the old games they used to play when they were young; kiss chase (which was quite violent when there were ninja involved) and seven minutes in heaven of staring awkwardly at Shino Aburame. Even as a tomboy, she had been subject to such games.

There was another loud burst of laughter from someone who was in the bathroom that made Tenten think of Lee, although he wouldn't be allowed anything stronger than punch she suspected (hoped and prayed). She wondered what game they might play next: truth or dare? And usually she wasn't averse to playing such games, but wasn't she an adult now? Was everyone just ignoring their oncoming maturity? Or fighting it off, like Genma, who Sakura had spent weeks fretting to Tenten about asking to her party.

We're just like teenagers, Tenten thought, like some wild pack of adolescent angst. Was a glass bottle and some beers all it took from them to turn into 'normal' civilians? Tenten smiled wryly, feeling far removed from any sensible adult reality as she watched Kiba lurch back to the middle of the circle to spin the bottle.

A chorus of loud, lewd catcalls sang out when the bottle tripped and slowed and finally rested on Naruto. "Come here, brother!" she heard Kiba yell, drunkenly, arms outspread and the giggles at Naruto's expression. He crept towards him laughing and together they did the coquettish air kisses that some of the girls had been so fond of when young.

"Mwah, mwah!" she heard Kiba say through his laughter before catching Naruto on his forehead by surprise, a fat, sloppy kiss that left him bellowing in dismay as Kiba howled back to his seat, slinging one arm around a rather out-of-place Aburame on one side and the sedately smoking Shikamaru on the other.

The bottle spun on Sakura's hardwood floor. There were so many of them here, rookie nine, colleagues from the hospital, friends-of-friends-of-friends... Tenten ducked as if she could avoid the bottle as it stopped and it pointed just past her knee to the chubby hospital secretary (or something like that) on her left. Thank god. Naruto was crawling towards them with a perverted leer that could rival Jiraiya himself and there was Sakura in the background, just laughing; usually the one to slap Naruto right back in his place, she was laughing... at something Shikamaru had slurred to her, his lips curving around that cigarette in a smirk. Sakura was _gone. _She didn't even seem to notice the ash that Shikamaru was inadvertently tapping on her floor.

"Is this pointing to Tenten?" Naruto grinned as he drew nearer. "Look at the angle."

"Didn't you almost fail math, at the academy?" Tenten replied, keeping her voice low and hoping no one else would hear. She didn't really want to be at this party to be honest, and was there out of politeness. Rudolph would not be joining in any of the reindeer games, thank you very much. (Okay so it wasn't as bad as the Christmas parties that would come soon, but all the same.)

"Kiss her," she tossed her head at the chubby, blushing secretary next to her. "She needs it _far _more than I do."

Naruto raised his eyebrows and attempted a pouting-face. "Sakura, I'm serious, look! I swear this is pointing at Tenten. Hey, who's the referee here?"

"Naruto, it's pointing at Sei, not Tenten," Sakura called back, yelling over the ongoing conversations. "Let's keep the game going."

"It's not!" Naruto protested. "Come look!"

"Fuck this," Tenten muttered, struggling to stand under the oppressive influence of all that alcohol. Raising her voice she said, "Naruto, just kiss that thing there. I'm stepping out of this juvenile little game that I'd never imagined I'd be playing past _fourteen_. Okay?"

Tenten nudged him hard in the side with her shin as she passed, satisfied with the surprised grunt in reply. She turned back feeling cold, haughty and adult, and just the littlest bit guilty at the sight of that chubby girl standing, wobbly, and making her way in the opposite direction.

* * *

Sakura's kitchen was surprisingly pristine, despite the party having gone on a few hours. It was the bathroom and the living room she'd have to work on tidying up, Tenten suspected.

The light was off, and she left it that way, knowing her way around Sakura's flat so well, even in the dark. She was the only kunoichi that Tenten bothered herself with really, although Ino was enjoyable company on a mission where there were no cute men or hairspray products to gossip about. And there was Hinata (there were only so many stylized variations of "Um" and "Uh" that Tenten could take).

She plopped down onto one of the kitchen chairs, toeing her shoes off with a sigh. She was feeling drunk herself, but not in the high, buzzing way she was supposed to. This was definitely a low.

Tenten could hear Sakura busily trying to save the day. "Let's play some music!"

She sighed in relief when that awful, stunned silence turned back to party chatter. Tenten wished she smoked like Shikamaru—or had some habit to make her feel less nervous, and more in control. She wanted a strong, tough drink. Anything that could make her feel good—or just alive—even for a moment.

This was supposed to be celebrating (was it Kiba's?) 18th birthday. She felt like she should feel old. Like she shouldn't be drinking.

And she was tired of all the games and hookups and pretending. She had been to hundreds of parties like this one, and she always felt like some stupid, dark-haired Barbie doll that Sakura propped up in the corner for all the Kens to come by and gawk at. She could never be herself, even for a moment. She always felt too guarded to let herself really get to know people, let alone really feel anything for anyone.

Before it had been fine, when shinobi could just settle down for a night together and be off on their way in the morning. Tenten had enjoyed a fair amount of brief flings herself, all discrete, all ending happily. Now there was that big scary word in the middle. Maturity. Now, if you brought a girl home, did that mean she was one of your prospective girlfriends? Lots of shinobi got married, despite the ever looming promise of death above their heads. Like the whole Ino-Shika-Chou Konoha had going for itself. And some, like Jiraiya, remained single (but not alone) till the end of their days.

Ino had come and poked her head around the door, spilling light into the room. Tenten had covered her eyes which had only just adjusted to the darkness.

"Are you okay?" Ino slurred, "I think you upset Sakura a bit."

"Yeah, I just need space," Tenten murmured back. "I'm finding this a little stupid at the moment."

"I'm very drunk," tittered Ino, clutching the door. "I haven't drunk since... er... well since just after the..." Tenten paused stiffly. "Just after the war? Not properly."

Oh no, she didn't want those sorts of memories now. Not now, when she was feeling low enough already. And Tenten could see that Ino was slowly being dragged down with that thought, too.

"Tell Sakura I'm not going back out there, Ino," Tenten stared past her friend, wondering what was going on in the living room. "What are they going out there now?"

"...truth or dare," Ino replied quietly.

"Oh my god. That's it. Get out of this room and don't let anyone else in

here! You got me?"

"But, Tenten, you—"

"No! Not another word from you, okay?"

"Okay, fine I can do that." Ino waved her hand, and stepped back out into the living room. "I'm going to find a drink... Genma's here, did you know? I like that senbon of his..."

"Don't drink too much Ino..." was her token-friend advice, half-heartedly spilled. Tenten hoped someone would be getting lucky tonight, because she certainly wasn't in the mood to.

Tenten flopped back into the kitchen chair, tipped it back and put her bare feet up. She smirked in satisfaction, wondering if she was the first person to put their feet on Sakura's kitchen table and survive.

"Did no one ever tell you, you can crack your head open like that?"

Tenten yelped, her reflexes embarrassingly slow, and the chair toppled backwards onto the cold, hard tiles. She saw shaped and lights bursting in the darkness behind her eyes and began blinking rapidly to clear them.

"Fuck!" she swore loudly, rubbing her head and rolling off the chair onto the floor, clutching her scalp. "Some ninja, I am... _fucking _hell," she sucked in a deep breath, trying to quell the nausea the sudden pain had brought about.

"Who was that?" she demanded, "where are you?"

"I'm here. Are you okay?"

Tenten got a glimpse of a shadowy figure move out from underneath the kitchen table. Someone probably hiding from the party like her.

"I think it's bleeding," Tenten replied, trying to stand but plopping straight back on her bum again. She rubbed the swelling on the back of her head and wondered how bad it was. "Hey, turn on the light?"

There was a long, pregnant pause. "I'm not doing that," he replied, steadying her with a hand on her arm. "The light needs to stay off." It was a warm hand, large, long-fingered with a firm grip.

"Gee, thanks, star. I'll do it myself." Tenten snapped back and tried to stand up again. The man's hand on her arm kept her from moving, which alerted her to the fact that he was a shinobi. No civilian male, or medic for that matter, would have managed to stop her from standing with that little effort.

"Please don't," said the man, in a smooth and somewhat hesitating voice. "I'm..." he stopped and sighed. "I'm quite drunk... the light stays off. It's funner that way."

"Why? I think I'm really hurt."

"Here, let me see." His hands moved lightly, not too overwhelmingly through the back of her hair, moving over her scalp to find the small bump her fall had raised. Tenten's head tingled.

"You aren't bleeding," the voice assured her

"How can you tell? It's too dark in here. Let me turn on the light, and—"

"No."

Tenten jumped, feeling a little uneasy at the voice. "Okay, weirdo...who are you?" He moved away from her.

"Hello?" There was no response, but she could make out his shape back under the table. Tenten sighed and rubbed her head again. With her dizziness abating, she stood and headed for the light switch. "I don't know what your problem is, but I'm—"

"I'm asking you." There was a sudden seriousness about his voice.

Her hand hesitated on the switch.

"Please," he implored her. "Don't do that."

"Why?" she asked again. There was no response, just a deep, almost embarrassed silence from the darkness under the table.

"I'm very drunk," he replied at last and fell silent again.

In the quiet, she could hear the party continuing in the living room. She turned her eyes to the dim outline of the door and heard Ino snap, "No, no! Kitchen is off limits! Drinks are in the bathtub, anyway."

Tenten smiled gratefully. At least the door was being guarded for a while.

"Hey, are you still there?" she asked and then cringed, mentally slapping herself for asking such a stupid question.

"Yes."

Something in his voice drew her to him, something familiar about it, that she couldn't quite place. There was strength in it, a certainty that shouldn't be coming from underneath a kitchen table. She moved away from the door and back toward the voice, getting down on her knees to peer underneath. She thought she saw the shimmer of a pair of eyes, but she couldn't be sure. It was definitely a shinobi though from the way he sat there poised, tense and waiting, despite the heavy scent of alcohol that permeated the air around him.

"I heard Yamanaka talking about the war," the man cleared his throat. "Let's keep the light off."

"You know Ino?"

"I know lots of ninja." The voice replied teasingly.

"Are you a ninja?" Tenten asked.

"...are you a ninja?"

"Yes," she replied, a bit shortly, annoyed with his evasiveness. "Are _you _a shinobi?"

"...yes."

"Jounin?"

"maybe."

Did that mean? Oh god. Tenten winced as she asked her next question, "you're not a chunin are you?"

The man laughed ever so slightly, but it was awkward like he didn't laugh much.

"Ex-ANBU," he replied in a smooth, haughty tone that was almost smug. "I teach now."

"So you _are _a jounin."

"Special jounin," the voice corrected. "Certainly a difference."

"Shouldn't tell people when you're in ANBU," Tenten mumbled back, feeling a little bit envious.

"I was put on leave," the man replied in that calm, placid tone of his. "I'm hardly going back there."

"True..." Tenten sat back on her heels. She let out her breath, feeling unsure and a little ambivalent about her sudden desire to reach out to him, this strange, hesitant shinobi, thinking about the future, the war, sitting alone in Sakura's kitchen. Empathic by nature, she knew what it was like to want to get away from a party like this.

"Can I join you?" she asked.

The man didn't reply for a few seconds. A few crushing, embarrassing seconds for Tenten but she heard the tile floor being patted as he said. "Yes... sure. Come on."

She crawled under, leaning against the wall next to him. It wasn't a big table, pressed into a little "breakfast nook". It only sported two chairs since only Sakura lived there. All the same Tenten and the stranger both fit comfortably enough underneath.

"So... you just wanted a break from all of that?" She waved her hand toward the door and felt foolish when she realised he wouldn't see it.

"Something like that."

"Me too." Tenten sighed and leaned her head back against the wall. She had forgotten about the bump and winced when she made contact. She brought her hand up to rub the sore spot—at least it was something to feel.

"I noticed." He chuckled.

She flushed. "You didn't hear what I said out there, did you?" That thought made her cringe with embarrassment.

"Yeah." He sounded amused and she was thankful for the lack of judgment or a big guilt trip

.

"Whoops. I was hoping you didn't know what a bitch I can be," she admitted. "First impressions and all..."

"Maybe it's better if we all start out knowing who we really are," the man replied light-heartedly.

"First impressions are everything," Tenten snorted back, still feeling embarrassed.

"But you don't judge a book by it's cover." She heard a snap that sounded like a book being shut, after he said that. She laughed.

"Are you reading in the dark?"

"Nervous habit," the man replied, but he sounded faintly amused, too.

"I'm not really like that." Tenten continued after. "Only some of the time. I mean, sometimes, sure, aren't we all? "

"Sure?" He sounded interested, at least she hoped he did, but really Tenten didn't want to go there.

"Something like that." They sat in silence for a moment, but it was a comfortable one. "I know what it's like, not wanting people to judge you on appearances."

"Do you?"

Tenten paused. She liked the anonymity because perhaps, maybe... just maybe, she could say what she meant. "Sure, I mean my sensei still treats me like I'm a genin. And the rest of the world is of the belief that I'm a flat-chested tomboy," she threw it all out there and then snorted to herself. "Well, most of the world, anyway."

"Hence the darkness," he replied.

Tenten paused. "Oh yeah," she said, smiling at the darkness. "I should have realised that."

She couldn't see his face at all and instead glanced at the man's hands. They were large, strong and she could tell, even in the dark that they were coarse and roughened, like all shinobi hands were. His long legs were stretched out beyond the table's edge. Darkness was funny, the way your mind used shapes and lines to fill in the blanks. How you could see some things or others.

"We should all go out in the dark," she continued when the man remained silent. The silence made her somewhat nervous. "And no one would treat us differently, right?"

"Or you could wear a mask," came the amused reply. "Might be helpful."

"I don't know," Tenten thought of Hatake Kakashi. "That would generate so much mystery, people would start to judge even more."

"...hadn't thought of it like that."

"It's the gin," Tenten replied, deadpan. "It makes me a genius."

She felt his fingers brush hers in the darkness, a phantom touch.

"You have soft hands for a kunoichi."

She flushed at the compliment (was that a compliment?) but didn't respond, wondering if he had been looking at her hands with any sort of ulterior motive. Compliments often felt more like sharp barbs to her than anything else, but this particular arrow landed softly, with precision.

The silence grew uncomfortable, and Tenten tried to think of a way to say she was going to get up and leave. This was just too strange. Besides, she needed to lie down. Her head was beginning to ache. She surprised herself when she asked, "What's your name?"

"Why?" was the infuriating reply. "That's no fun."

"Tell me."

"What's your name?"

"Tenten."

This seemed to amuse the stranger and his laughter filled the darkness, somewhat muffled. "Tenten," she heard him mutter and then laugh again.

"Yes, Tenten," she snapped. "What's wrong with Tenten?"

"Mah. Nothing, nothing," he said. "Well, Tenten, since we're on superficial questions, what rank are you, yourself?"

"Jounin," she replied at once, hoping to encourage him to answer some of her own questions.

"Weapons mistress," he asked, his voice rising ever so slightly at the end of his sentence. Tenten froze. Well, shit.

"You know me, don't you..."

"Only in passing—"

"That first impression crap you pulled was bullshit-"

"Hey I don't _know _you..." the man replied, trying to placate her. "And you don't know me."

"Who are you?

"Me? Oh I confess," he said without hesitation. "Sakura and Yamanaka told me to wait in here for you."

"What?" Tenten gasped out loud, but it was probably the alcohol that made her react in such a way. "Oh, I knew it!" Sakura and Ino tried to set you up with me, didn't they. They've been doing that ever since Neji shacked up with that blond piece in interrogation."

"Hey, hey, it was a joke," the man said and this time she was sure she could hear the smile in his voice. "I should have realised someone on Gai's team would get so easily worked up."

She found herself genuinely wondering for the first time what he really did look like. "Do you know Gai-sensei?"

There was a long pause. "...we talk." He said, sounding vaguely ominous.

"Well it's not as if you could tell him anything embarrassing about me," Tenten shrugged him off, feeling more than a little threatened, now.

"Don't lie. How's your head?" In her (albeit drunk) playfulness, she had nudged herself quite close to him in the dark, and she was enjoying the warmth of his thigh, hip and arm touching hers.

"It hurts," she admitted. "I think I need a painkiller."

"I can help. Do you want me to rub it?"

"I'm not a dog!"

"Suit yourself."

"Wait..."

Tenten hesitated. That was a fairly intimate thing to be doing anywhere, let alone in a dark kitchen under a table. Still her head was tingling, and she was drunk, and he was drunk, and he might know Gai, but a head rub could be just as innocent as it could intimate, right?

"Sure." She suddenly didn't care if it was sending him the wrong message. Then again, maybe it wasn't the wrong message at all.

"Come here, then," he said. "Put your head in my lap."

Hesitantly, Tenten lay down on the tiles, resting her cheek against the rough material that covered his thigh. She was sure it was just standard issue ninja pants, and that would probably make that weird, rumpled shape over in the corner his jounin vest.

His fingers slid through her hair, slipping carefully around her buns to find and caress the raised bump on her head. The sensation seemed to lift and change as he touched her.

"This is cosy," she murmured, feeling almost sleepy.

"Mmm." His concentration seemed too focused for him to say much more. His hands worked over her like magic. She closed her eyes and sighed happily. Eventually the silence stretched too taut for her.

"You know, you should tell me who you are."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," she replied. "So I can get more head rubs. But mainly because I don't have anything to go on with just "special jounin, friend of Gai."

"Gai doesn't have that many friends, does he?"

"Don't be mean about my sensei!" Tenten giggled (dear god she giggled!) like a girl. A _girl. _"And as a friend of Gai... you could be old."

The rubbing stopped. "I am _not _old." He admonished, but still sounded highly amused. "Well... maybe in terms of shinobi. Does that help?"

"Not really."

His fingers slipped lower, digging into the soft curve of her neck. She sighed, letting out a soft moan as he worked out the kinks. "Like that?"

"Yeah.

"Anyway, I thought you said appearances don't matter."

"Not in the dark, they don't." Tenten replied.

"Yeah, well what if you turn out to be fat? And I want to slip away with my identity intact, in case you turn out to be some-"

"hey..."

"Hideous kunoichi," his laughter was strangely muffled again. As if he wasn't used to it.

"Ouch."

His hands paused. "Am I hurting your head?"

"No…my heart." She sniffed back.

He continued to rub her head in the silence, and slowly she found that the pain in her head seemed to dissipate.

The next time it was he who broke the quiet. "So, do you get along with the other teams?"

"I get along with Sakura... Ino sometimes. My own team." Tenten sighed. "I feel like sometimes they're a bit immature. I spend a lot of time training with Genma."

The fingers paused again. "Genma? You think Genma is mature?"

"Oh, so you know Genma, too?" she asked. "Well that's a bit more to go on. Friend of Gai, friend of Genma... possibly old." Tenten laughed. "Ow, ow, too hard."

His touch became lighter, almost feather-light, and it made her shiver. "Besides all the girls want to do is gossip and all the boys want to do is..."

"What's that?" He sounded distracted as his hand stroked her shoulder.

"Um..."

"Oh, that. Right."

Again, she could hear his smile. She had never noticed how much one could tell about someone's expression even in the dark.

"And if I'm being honest, it's not even that. I'm not averse to sex," she

admitted.

"Good to know." It was a veritable grin now.

She smiled, too, letting that one slide. "If Gai comes up to me bellowing about my lost lotus bloom. I will hunt you down."

"How?"

"I just will."

"I won't say anything," he replied and stroked her cheek with his fingertips. "Who was the lucky guy, anyway?"

"No one you know," Tenten replied, airily, trying to sidestep the question.

"How do you know, I don't know them?"

"Fine, I'm not going to tell you, Gai's friend."

"Friend?" She could hear his smile again as he traced the shape of her jaw, "oh no, I wouldn't say that."

A fingertip trailed down her throat.

"Would you like me to do your shoulders?" the voice asked, clearing its throat quietly. "You're pretty tight."

"Oh wow, that has to be the oldest line in the book," she laughed loudly. Looking up at him she could just about see the outline of his face. Pale skin, strong jaw—but she still couldn't make out his features.

"Maybe." This time she saw the flash of his teeth.

"Well," Tenten threw caution to the wind, thinking (hoping?) maybe she'd have company tonight. "It's working."

"Then come here and sit between my legs." His voice was warm and inviting and she flushed like a school girl as she delicately felt her way over his thigh, sensing him adjust to her shape as she settled herself.

"I don't have to fear you telling Gai-sensei, now," she murmured. "I doubt he'd approve."

The sound of his short laugh was rich and deep and it thrilled her again. She wondered what he would sound like if he really laughed out loud and a part of her suddenly longed to hear that. His hands massaged her shoulder blades and she sighed, rolling her neck and inching back toward him. She heard his sharp intake of breath as she clutched his thighs.

"If you stop being a jounin," she murmured, "you could easily be a masseuse."

"Is that a compliment?" he teased. "I'd never stop being a shinobi."

"If I was a religious kinda girl, I'd say I'd died and gone to heaven," she breathed, feeling both of his hands spreading over the expanse of her back from spine to ribs. "Ahh...that...incredible..."

"How about this?" His breath tickled the tiny hairs at the nape of her neck before he kissed her there, his lips full and warm. Tenten shivered, her nails digging into his thighs in a way that made him jump. She had forgotten they were sitting under Sakura's kitchen table in the dark, with a party going on in the other room. She had forgotten she didn't know this man, that she had never seen his face. There was nothing but his hands, his mouth, and the soft velvet darkness all around them.

And then before she could think, before she could react, his lips found hers in the blackness, a slow journey from a mislaid kiss by her ear, over her cheek to her open, anticipating mouth. His hand reached up and cupped her face, she could feel his full lips smirking into the kiss and hesitated when her own hand curled back to touch his cheek; expecting to find thick scars or acne, or burns, a reason to stay in the dark. To her surprise his skin was smooth, unmarred, and there was a delicious hint of stubble. Reassured, Tenten slithered an arm around his neck, slanting her mouth across his and teasing his lips with her tongue.

His fingers moved straight for the hem of her shirt, (surprise, surprise, the cynical part of her remarked) but she let him, helped him, expose her skin to the cold kitchen air. Kitchens were always cold, she suspected it was the tiles, but regardless, her nipples responded immediately to the temperature change even as her mystery shinobi made short work of the wrappings she wore.

"There," he murmured against her white flesh. "Not a flat-chested tomboy at all."

Tenten swore she could hear voices coming closer to the door and she pulled away suddenly, listening intently. The conversation was muffled and almost unintelligible over his soft yet heavy breathing. Then, after a few moments she clearly heard somebody (Ino?) say, "she's in the kitchen."

She glanced at him, trying to regulate her own breath, too. "Maybe we should go somewhere?" she whispered, hardly able to believe herself and moved to her hands and knees to crawl out from the table. Her hands went to do her shirt back up again, fumbling with the Chinese collar. He grabbed her hips and she gasped, looking back at him as he held fast.

"Let's stay here," he insisted, and even though she'd kept her usual, long pants on it felt like he was sliding his hands up her bare thighs. "Might sober up if we leave this place."

"Are you sure?"

"You're a kunoichi," she could hear the smirk. "Live dangerously." His hands roamed over ass as yanked down her trousers.

"What colour are these?" He murmured against her ear as his fingers probed through the thin slip of material left.

"Just white," she blurted her breath catching as he pushed her panties aside. For some reason such a boring answer seemed to please him and she was still worried about being interrupted and _trying _to be quiet but his fingers were distracting.

She was rolled over, his hands raking down her breasts, settling on her hips and squeezing hard. When she felt his tongue slip under the elastic of her panties she stopped worrying and listening and let the sensations take over.

_Yes_, she was moaning quietly, muffling her responses against the back of her hand. _Oh yes, _arching and crying as he bit and sucked with fierce, earnest enthusiasm. She arched again, trying to untangle her legs from her pants, spreading her legs as wide as she could manage. He yanked her foot out of one trouser leg, lapping at her, making her moan and moan and moan.

"Shh," he warned, his hot breath tickling her wet flesh as she whimpered.

Tenten thought maybe the voices were receding, or maybe she just couldn't concentrate anymore with his tongue circling that one, special place, closer and closer, his tight, excited breaths sending chills all over her body.

As the (_stranger) _worked his mouth, tasting and teasing and savouring Tenten began to care less and less about someone walking into the kitchen. Even if Sakura, or Neji had burst in at that moment, Tenten didn't think she would have reacted to them, except maybe with her middle finger. He rolled he over on the tiles, sliding her back under the table and finally pulling off her pants completely with a flash of grin that went a long way in reassuring her. Tenten hissed, cradling her head in her hands. The bump there throbbed in protest after her short, but rough, journey over the kitchen tiles.

"Fuck, my head." But her brief complaint was forgotten almost immediately as he swung her legs up, up, over his shoulders; that warm breath rippling over her thighs.

"Oh," he was silent for a moment, his fingers lost in exploring her. "Come here," he murmured, softly. He helped her sit, hands cupping her breasts again as he kissed her once, gently, thumbing her nipples. Every sensation was heightened from the almost painful throb between her legs to the way her open shirt slid across the sides of her breasts. She gasped into his mouth, draping her arms around his neck and straddling his thigh, trying to pull him out from under the table; wanting the vicious cold bite of the tiles against her back.

"Up we go," his voice was a low whisper as he wrapped her legs around his waist, rolling out from the table before he stood, taking her with him. She laughed, exhilarated at the sensation of being carried. He turned around and put her bare bottom down on the table (she had no idea where anything but her shirt had gotten to), finding her mouth again. His hands, the same hands that had gently ran through her hair earlier, kneaded her ass roughly and forced her hard against his crotch. She reached down between them to feel the bulge there, cupping and rubbing him until he moaned against her lips.

"Who are you?" she asked him again, "Tell me." Her hand rubbed harder and he hissed, trying, needing, to get closer.

"Doesn't matter," he teased back and before she could protest or demand an answer he was slipping his tongue down her neck. He licked and sucked so hard she knew she was going to be covered with marks, but she didn't care. His tongue was exquisite, and she wanted more of it—everywhere.

Tenten leaned back on her elbows, trying to remember if Sakura kept anything on the table, like salt shakers or placemats and if it really mattered. She didn't feel any

resistance. She put the heels of her feet on the table and, with surprising balance, spread herself for him. It was a pretty decent position, she didn't mind telling heself and then half-laughed half-cringed when she realized with a bemused smile that he couldn't see her in the darkness.

"I'm here," she whispered. "Give me your hand."

He reached out for her, finding first one raised knee, then the other. She lifted one of his hands, bringing it to her mouth and kissed the palm, the wrist and the long, rough fingers.

He made a low noise, and she heard the rustling sound of his own pants being pushed down with his free hand. She pressed the hand she still held between her legs, making him cup her and. He caught her rhythm, letting her rock against his hand with a sharp, surprised breath.

"Wait," he told her, leaning in to suck and lick at her, no rhyme or reasons to his efforts, just sheer lust and abandon.

"Pervert," she replied, even with no real reason to complain. This seemed to amuse him as he told her between soft, slow kisses.

"You'd be surprised." His tongue went inside, deep, wet, and together they moaned; the vibrations of his voice sending funny tingled shooting down her legs. "Good thing you don't know me, right?"

"Stop talking," she commanded and found his hair in her hands, surprised at the softness of it and how messy it was and loving how it curled around her fingers. She paused a moment trying to figure out what colour it was in the darkness before he began focusing on that tiny bud of nerves in earnest. His mouth was tentative, he was tentative, exploring her response, finding the place that made her squirm and gasp the most. Tenten gave a loud moan when he found her sweet spot and his tongue focused there with a gentle flickering that began spreading warmth through her in tightening waves.

She tried to be quiet, still quite mindful that she was lying on her Sakura's kitchen table and someone could walk in at any moment. Her whispered responses seemed to evoke such sensational growls from him. They shivered up her spine and sent her spiraling closer and closer to her peak. She wanted to chant his name, but she didn't know it, and that was _thrilling _so she just kept chanting _yes, yes yes! _as quietly as she could manage. His tongue moved even faster as he eased two fingers inside, twisting and pushing and pressing at her. The sensation made her buck her hips, her feet coming off the table but his mouth didn't move from its position, and his fingers didn't deviate from their motion. He simply hooked one of her legs over his shoulder and continued, persistent, urging her to completion. She never wanted it to end, but she couldn't hold back any longer. His tongue flickered with an unrelenting and enthusiastic insistence. She shuddered against him, lifting her hips and pressing his mouth down hard. Her hands fisted in his hair, while her whole body rolled with her orgasm.

Tenten pressed his hand between her legs, covering her. He rubbed her gently, making her moan as little electric jolts ran through her body from every contact point—his hand still touching her, his tongue and lips moving to press against her thigh and the weight of him between her legs. She never wanted it to end.

"Don't stop…" she tried to tell him, trying to push herself over. "I'm not done... I..."

She felt him parting her with his fingers, gently, his tongue going back to find the tender, swollen bud. He moved his mouth back and forth over that sweet, sensitive spot, his other hand rubbing roughly over a hard nipple, sending pleasure waves down through her belly toward her hips. Everything was centered where his lips were. The soft, wet friction made her wiggle and pull at his hair, wanting more.

She tried to be quiet, but he was pulling her against his mouth, wild and unrestrained. His tongue was flicking faster and faster, and Tenten urged him on, her thighs tightening, her hips rocking as she used his tongue for her pleasure. This wasn't a sweet, slow spiral upward. She was flying, racing headlong toward exquisite release. . Tenten moaned and twisted beneath him. She felt it begin in her belly, like a small earthquake, rumbling through her pelvis and driving her hips as she bucked and arched. He made encouraging noises in his throat, seeming to recognize the sounds and feel of her at her pinnacle, licking faster than ever. She gasped and quivered under his mouth, her belly convulsing, undulating. The little bud of flesh under his tongue pulsed with her pleasure and still he didn't stop, teasing her with his tongue until she begged.

"I can't stand it!" She half-laughed, half-sobbed as he flicked his tongue over that sweet, sensitive spot.

He cupped her ass in his hands as she spiralled back down softly, feeling like she was going to melt off the counter and onto the floor into a pile of moaning, trembling mush. She let her hands fall down his sides, realising he was still clothed and, with some annoyance, that at sometime during their time together he had pulled his pants back up.

"Don't think you can take advantage of me," he teased. "You don't even know my name."

"Cheek... of it," she breathed back, trying to slip her hand down the front of his pants, feeling guilty that he received absolutely nothing from her.

"No," he whispered in her ear, pulling her hand up to touch the smooth-yet-stubbly texture of his face. Then, he bent down, ghosting his lips over the undersides of her breasts, stealing her breath when he did.

"Why not?" she growled, feeling a little embarrassed at the reaction.

"I'll tell you what," he replied, bending down to pick up her underwear and the discarded trousers she'd been wearing. He couldn't help but kiss the beginning of her thigh as he stood back up again and helped her slip into her clothes.

"What?" she grumbled back.

"Find out who I am," he murmured against her neck as he pulled her shirt closed and made short work of buttoning her collar again.

His hands caressed the sensitive, ticklish undersides of her feet as he slipped her shoes back on. "And then," he kissed her temple. "We might just carry on."

That scared her.

"That is, if you're not afraid to find me," he carried on smoothly, hitting the nail on the head.

"Who are you?" Tenten blurted out and hiding her face against his shoulder, even if he couldn't see her. "I can't believe we just did that."

"I can." He said, helping her stand up and find her footing in the darkness. "Do you regret it?"

"No," she answered and meant it. "Not right now, anyway."

He was still just a silhouette in the dark, a suggestion of a man. The intimacy of their act coupled with what might still be revealed settled in her stomach and left her feeling somewhat uneasy and troubled. "Hey, I can't go out like this.. where are my wrappings? Turn on the light?"

"You're not getting me that easily," he said back, sounding amused. "And I ripped them off."

"I have to see you."

"If it doesn't matter, why do you need to see me?"

"Because you know my sensei!" Tenten blurted out. They both froze. And then burst out laughing at the weirdness of what she'd just said.

"Well you don't have to worry about Gai finding out," he said. "Not now."

"Can I have any other clues than just 'old'?" she asked.

"I'm not old," he sniffed.

"Older than me, then."

"Mah, two clues then," he settled for, "but you might not like the answer to the riddle, you know. Clue one."

She felt the weight of something heavy in her hands—something like the sound of paper rusting, before it was gone again in an instant. Before she could wrap her drunk, pleasure-addled mind around whatever Clue one was, he was muttering "clue two" in her ear. He slipped away and picked up the jounin vest from underneath the table, slipping it round her shoulders.

"What, does it have a name-tag, or something?" she snorted.

"Nothing so obvious," was the reply. "Turn around."

Her body tingled in anticipation as she obeyed him, even though she knew he was probably going to leave now. He kissed the nape of her neck, the same way he had started all of this and whispered, "no peeking," in a low, amused voice.

There was a quick burst of light as the door was opened and he slipped out like a shadow.

And then nothing...

Tenten slipped the jounin vest on, drinking in the scent as she bent down to recover the remnants of her torn wrappings.

She was alone and yet half expecting him to jump out from the table again.

You know, it might never have happened.

Tenten smiled in the soft, secretive dark. _But it did. _


	2. 2: In the Morning

Tenten entered the kitchen with a thrilling sense of doom. For there it was, just sitting there, innocent and completely innocuous-looking. One never would have guessed...

And, Tenten realised with a sick, dropped sensation in her stomach, Ino was eating her breakfast on it.

Oh god.

"Mornin'," Ino chirped, as Tenten tried not to think about how her breakfast plate was more or less exactly where her bum had been last night. Ino was as perky as ever despite the endless beers, the wine and even sake (more of an older generation drink) that she'd glugged down the night before. Tenten took the other chair next to her at Sakura's breakfast table, not touching it at all and refusing the fresh, crispy bacon Ino waved in front of her. Her head burned and she had that bone-deep ache in her body that one got with a hang-over and a hard night's sleep on a floor.

"Ughnrf," Tenten replied, trying not to raise her eyebrows when Genma Shiranui loped through the door with fresh, showered skin that dripped water over the tiles as he tied his bandana. He sidled up next to Ino, popping some of the bacon in his mouth, and gave Tenten a sleepy-eyed salute. In the sunlight Ino and Genma looked like some god-couple with their light, shining hair and tanned skin. Tenten felt her eyes narrow almost imperceptibly in envy. Obviously hangovers didn't affect either of them. She hadn't even drank that much...

So she had been drunk enough to kick Naruto whom she rarely spoke to in real life. And then hide in a dark kitchen. And then get off with a stranger... Tenten pulled a rather queasy face, ignoring the look of surprise from both Ino and Genma.

God... she'd really done that, hadn't she.

That had really happened, hadn't it...

"Uh... Tenten? You there, buns? We've slept through the usual training time," Genma said through a mouthful of bacon, his warm, honey-coloured eyes watching her curiously. Tenten turned to him a bit dreamy-eyed still and suddenly noticed Ino's hair was wet too. Had they showered together? She wanted to disapprove but then her brain weakly reminded her of the night before, and she was off pulling faces again.

"Tenten?"

"I wouldn't have survived training today," Tenten replied, trying to seem nonchalant but she felt icky in the clothes she'd slept in and all the alcohol she could smell on herself. "I thought you went, uh... home, Ino."

"No," Ino giggled, her smile positively feline. "Sakura fell asleep and we... well, we stayed here." She dropped a piece of bacon on the table, right there, and then popped it in her mouth. Tenten blanched, remembering the night before and tried to keep a straight face as Ino chewed.

Who _was _that guy? Was he still here, or was it just Genma and Ino who remained? Did she have time to scout around the house and look for any shinobi with a missing vest?

It was almost as if thinking about the vest had drawn both Genma and Ino's attention to it, because their eyes snapped to it at almost the exact same time. Before Tenten had time to think on how spooky that was, the interrogation had begun.

"Hey, who'd you steal that from?" Genma snorted and inclined his head towards the vest that Tenten still had slipped around her shoulders. Yeah she'd slept in it... that didn't mean anything, of course? Genma did another one of those sniggery-snorty-laughs that always made Tenten feel somewhat homicidal. "Hey, did he give you _those_, too?"

What? Oh God! Tenten's hands flew to her neck as her mind flew back to the night before; and then the memory of that stranger's teeth, lips, tongue scraping over her neck. Her cheeks darkened to a thick, embarrassed red.

"That good, huh?" Ino's right eyebrow quirked upwards teasingly. She shared an outrageous look with Genma and, idly (though it was mainly to try and stem the feelings of abject humiliation) Tenten wondered if he was going to ever contact Ino again. He might keep her for a few months, Tenten thought snidely, she was pretty enough.

"Who was it?" Genma probed and popped yet more bacon in his mouth. How were the two of them not fat? For Team Gai it was a strict diet of fruit, vegetables, fish, low-fat meats and then more vegetables, would you know. A fried bacon sandwich would have Gai crying and demanding three hundred laps around the Hokage Tower (backwards and blindfolded of course) before it had even been digested.

Tenten's sleepy brain finally managed to process Genma's innocent question and she did the best impression of Hinata one had ever seen; umming and uhing and going as red as the tomato ketchup Ino was slathering over her scrambled eggs.

How to put this delicately? She wondered as her hands worked over the fresh, bite-shaped bruises on her neck and she felt a slither of what she had felt that night before. She tried to quell the sudden wave of pleasure that nested in her stomach and spread through her ribs and put on the straightest face she could manage. She wanted to say, _I never saw his face, never knew his name, and my bum was right where you're eating your bacon Yamanaka_, but her voice wouldn't come.

"I'm not going to tell you," she replied at last and hoping she sounded nonchalant. "Nothing's going to come of it anyway."

"Hey, when did you even get them?" Ino asked, suddenly. "You stormed off into the kitchen remember?"

Tenten swore. Why couldn't Ino actually be the airhead all of her haters said she was? The blond never missed a trick. Tenten did more Hinata impressions and tried her hardest not to jump when her hand rested against the table, right where her left foot had been.

"You went off with Genma, didn't you?" she countered, feeling a quick burst of triumph. "I came out of the kitchen a bit after that."

"I'll get it out of you, yet," Ino wiggled her eyebrows as she polished off the last of her eggs. No you won't, vowed Tenten, except you probably will... also I can see there's a reason Sakura calls you Ino-pig. That was a lot of eggs and bacon...

"Wild horses couldn't drag it out of me," Tenten replied airily, and told herself that it wasn't a lie. Because a wild horse couldn't drag out what she really didn't know, you understand? It was going to be hard to step around the awkward questions, though.

"Yo." The three of them jumped in unison when a head suddenly popped up from the window and waved a salute. "Is Sakura up yet, Ino-san?"

"Shinobi are quiet, but you're too quiet, Kakashi-sensei!" Ino yelled at the white-haired sensei of Team 7 as he hung from the window, his one visible eye crinkled into a smile. "I haven't woken her up yet."

"No, that's probably not the best idea," Kakashi replied, placidly, his voice pulling at Tenten's mind in a way she couldn't place. It was like having words on the tip of her tongue and just not being able to say them. "Oh you and Genma showered together? That's nice."

"Hello Kakashi," said Genma, looking completely unfazed whereas Ino spazzed out and threatened to have words about Kakashi with Sakura if he wasn't careful with what he said. "I didn't see you last night."

"I didn't see you either," Kakashi shrugged and then gazed at Tenten. "Hello," he called out cheerily.

"Good morning, Kakashi-sensei," replied Tenten, never quite knowing how to act around Gai-sensei's eternal rival. Were they friends? Were they not friends? Was she polite? She really didn't know.

"You look awful," Kakashi beamed at her. "Was there not enough room in the shower for the three of you?" It seemed he was much more outspoken when Sakura wasn't around to smack him into submission, thought Tenten acidly, her fingers twitching for kunai that weren't there.

"I'm losing my touch," Genma replied laughingly as Ino had another outraged spaz attack (though the part of Tenten that was somewhat envious of Ino, decided she probably enjoyed the attention.)

And why not? Why couldn't a pretty girl enjoy the attention she got? The other half of Tenten prodded back. Why are you always such a joy-kill Tenten?

You know some days she felt crazy. At least she had a war she could blame it on. That was probably why Kakashi-sensei was so weird, too. And Gai-sensei. Wasn't there an article in Kunoichi Monthly (not that she would _ever _admit to reading Kunoichi Monthly) that talked about child shinobi growing up to be either violently psychotic or sexually depraved? Briefly, Tenten wondered if the stranger from last night was violently psychotic or sexually depraved and then had a spaz attack to rival Ino's about it.

Who was he? _Who_?

"Toothpaste works," Kakashi told her from the window, just before Ino slammed it shut and the jammed the curtains together. "For your neck!" she heard, muffled through the glass and her hands flew to her throat again.

If she found the stranger, she'd punch him for giving her so much grief.

And afterwards they would have soul-wrenching, heart-attack-inducing, pleasure-filled love-making, because surely that had been the best almost-sex of her life! And then, once she'd gotten that out of her system, the two of them could go about their lives again, happily. She would go away with both her appetite and her curiosity satisfied and the shinobi... well he was getting laid, what would he have to complain about?

The crazy part of Tenten's mind, the sarcastic, gallows-humour part that she blamed on the war decided to taunt her. It could have been anyone it told her as she threw mental senbon at it, (a little trick the therapist had given her, until it learned to mentally dodge back.)

"It could have been Ibiki Morino," she murmured aloud, her eyes wide with shock. "Oh wait... no it's okay, he had hair... he definitely had hair—didn't he?"

"Did who?" asked Ino from the sink. "Ibiki-san's bald, you plum."

Yes, Tenten could remember his hair, soft, thick, lovely to run your fingers through. And he hadn't minded when she tugged hard at it or dug her fingers into his scalp; in fact it had been quite the opposite. Quite a few of her bed partners had mutually parted with her on the basis of her being "just a little bit too much to handle" Tenten recalled. Honestly, you pick up a few tips and tricks from Anko and suddenly _everyone_ was terrified...

Tenten liked Anko. She felt bad for being terrified of her in the genin days, because now genins were terrified of _her _and it was annoying as fuck. Perhaps she'd turn into the slightly addled, weapons-loving freak in fishnet when Anko decided to retire...

She heard a disgusting, slightly wet sound that was Genma and Ino kissing goodbye (was there anything more aggravating than public displays of affection?) and threw a bye over her shoulder when Genma called out to her. She heard the faint sound of Sakura's front door being shut and, if she focused her ears, Genma's footsteps down the corridor outside.

Ino was on her in seconds.

"Genma's not here anymore!" she said, her eyes practically gleaming. "There's no reason for you to be embarrassed! Who is he? Tell me, tell me!"

"Argh!" was all Tenten said in reply, because Ino had slammed her hands down on the table and Tenten really wasn't sure how much more of this particular piece of furniture she could take. She cleared her throat and stared back at Ino, trying to sober herself. Was she an ally?

"Let's go the living-room," she told the younger blond and tried to ignore the pain that Ino's excited chirruping ignited in her brain. She was worse than that Chihuahua that had been the bane of Team Gai's existence in the "good ol' days". And Sakura had thought that cat that Team 7 had been forever chasing was bad...

Someone had obviously taken the time to clean the living-room because it was suspiciously free of any bottles, cans, pizza take-out and cigarette ash; however there was Shikamaru sleeping soundly on one of the lime-green sofa's, his soft snores rebounding off the spacious, white walls. Sakura's hospital pay on top of her usual mission cheques had certainly bought her a grand, spacious pad. Tenten practically lived in a matchbox herself and she was not above pilfering the weapons from any fallen enemies she encountered on missions, especially if it helped pay the rent. She watched, only mildly scandalised, as Ino tiptoed over to Shikamaru (god forbid he should ever fall asleep on guard duty they'd be dead within seconds) and skilfully filched his cigarettes. Ino pulled out two, offering one forwards to Tenten who hesitated. She had resisted the bacon, hadn't she? Gai would be disappointed if he found out.

But he wouldn't find out, Tenten thought as she stared down at Ino's smiling face. Because, why would Ino tell him? And would he find out about last night? No, he wouldn't know about that either.

Feeling a monumental change in such a small moment, Tenten took the long, smooth cigarette from Ino's waiting fingers and popped it in her mouth, experimentally. It was a day of many new things for her; namely smoking and stranger love, but she was sure there would be more. She let Ino light it for her, sucked in the smoke the way people said you were meant to, and was proud when she didn't choke.

You know, it was said that a day would always come when one realised that one's sensei wasn't omnipresent and all-knowing, and perhaps this was it. Lee would probably never have that. He would get to Gai's age and he would have a child and that child would be a mini-Gai, and his grandchild would be a mini-Gai, and his great-grandchild would be a mini-Gai and onwards it would go.

"Tenten are you okay?" Ino leaned forwards, her voice a bit breathy from the smoke. "You look horrified."

"Strange thoughts," she replied as they fell onto the sofa that wasn't Shikamaru-occupied.

"So who was he?" Ino prompted, knowing better than to pry at someone's 'strange thoughts'. "You were going to tell me, remember?" Her blue eyes were honed on Tenten's face and... hey, didn't Ino work for Interrogation these days? Well, there went Tenten's chances of secrecy.

"I was going to tell you?" said Tenten.

"Yes," she replied.

Well that settled it then.

.

.

.

"_WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW_?" Ino howled with laughter as Tenten tried to hush her, frantically aware that Shikamaru was frowning in his sleep—had he heard? Was he just dreaming?

"What I said," Tenten scowled back. "Don't think I'd hesitate to hurt you, if you told anyone Yamanaka."

"Back to second-names, are we?" Ino replied, her voice still bubbly with laughter and obviously used to such threats. "I'm not half as much as a gossip as I used to be. Not since training under Ibiki-sensei... how far did you go?"

"I never want to hear 'Ibiki-sensei' and 'how far did you go' in the same sentence again," Tenten replied, deliberately avoiding the question. She sucked on that cigarette again, feeling that it was the perfect way to continue avoiding the question, but all it really did was leave a bit of a bad taste in her mouth.

"Did you kiss him?"

"Yes..."

Ino nodded. "...did you..." her eyebrows rose suggestively.

"Um...?"

"S-E-X."

"Oh!" Tenten blushed, despite herself. She wasn't usually embarrassed about such things, but did this constitute as girl-talk? Because girl-talk always made her red, ever since Gai-sensei sat her down and tried to tell her all about 'becoming a woman' in front of both Lee and Neji. "No."

"Did you do more than kiss, but less than sex?"

"Aha." Tenten tried to stand up and go away, perhaps chance waking up the Pink Dragon of Ungodly Strength, but Ino yanked her back down again.

"When? Where? Did you get caught? How was it?" She blurted out, almost shaking Tenten with her need to know. God, what did they teach them in interrogation? Her teeth were rattling!

"Fucking hell!" She spat back at Ino. "I didn't want to tell you, but I thought you might help me find him!"

Ino shrank back a bit, realising that Tenten couldn't be pushed the same way Sakura might. She smiled apologetically. "Well of course I'd be willing to help... but why do you want to find him again?"

"Because it's playing havoc with my head," Tenten grumbled back. She could remember the exact sensation of his lips against the back of her neck, and against other things. She could remember in perfect detail the feel of his fingers sliding along the sole of her foot as he slipped her sandals back on and made his proposition. "And he told me to find him."

"Like a challenge?" said Ino, her face oddly contorted as she tried to blow rings. Shikamaru had gone back to snoring again and Tenten was pretty sure he hadn't heard anything.

"Right," she said, the word challenge sending a thrill through her. "And he left me his vest as a clue. I can't... I can't remember the first clue, though."

"What did he sound like?" asked Ino, "did he have any particular mannerisms? Any sort of... catchphrase?"

"I don't remember," Tenten replied, feeling a sudden wash of shame pierce her usually nonchalant exterior. "Um... I remember he said that he knew you... but he referred to you as Yamanaka," she stopped, "and he called Sakura by her first name."

"So it's someone all three of us know," Ino nodded and then snorted in a way that was frighteningly close to Genma, Tenten thought. "That narrows it down."

"And Genma," she carried on. "And he knows Gai-sensei."

"Shit," Ino laughed, "he _knows _your sensei... oh, he's probably old."

"In terms of shinobi," Tenten nodded, recalling his cryptic words. "And he's ex-ANBU."

"Nice," Ino whistled. "Let me go wake up Sakura and we can pool our ideas."

"No!" Tenten grabbed Ino's arm, perhaps a bit too hard from the slightly panicked look in her eyes.

Tenten cleared her throat, feeling somewhat embarrassed. Sometimes she forgot others were different from how they used to be, too. "No, please. Er, I don't want anyone else knowing, Ino. Sorry."

"Yeah, no, that's fine," Ino replied, obviously trying to brush off the slight alarm she had felt when Tenten grabbed her arm. The silence grew taught after a few minutes of them quietly smoking.

"So..." said Ino. "Where were you both? I'm sorry! I just can't figure out where you could have been! I mean, you said you left the kitchen and well—me and Genma had the bathroom, so..."

Fuck it, she was leaving. Surely one could only be so sociable every 48 hours. She had fulfilled her ration of other people for the week, hadn't she?

Tenten stood up, yanking the too-big vest over her shoulders. Whoever this man was, he smelt _good _to her. And every time she got a whiff of his scent she was enveloped in the pleasurable memories of last night. She turned to Ino serenely, steeled by the smell of him.

"In the kitchen," replied Tenten, enjoying the way her eyes grew wide. "On the breakfast table."

She moved quickly to the living-room door, before Ino could recover from choking, and then let rip another mind-blowing remark. "Right where you were eating breakfast, actually," she said, feeling laughter rip through her throat. "Say goodbye to Sakura for me!"

"Tenten-!"

The front door shut behind her with a satisfying thud, somewhat marred by the two warring sides within her. She really shouldn't have said that to Ino... especially if she really did turn out to be a gossip and that information went to other ears...

But that look had been priceless.

Oh, she didn't know these days, Tenten wrapped her arms around herself as she trudged down the apartment stairs, too tired to go full-ninja (she wanted to save her energy for the sprint back to her own apartment in case she bumped into Gai who would notice her bruised neck immediately). It always felt like their were loads of versions of herself inside of her. There was the tomboy that didn't even want to _look_ at someone as girly as Ino, and there was the bitch (that Anko had lovingly nurtured), and the little girl that still needed Gai's affection, and the grown woman that was sick of being a child, and it went on... she sighed, realised she was smoking inside the apartment building and put the cigarette out in a droopy-looking plant-pot by the end of the staircase.

She really didn't know herself, at all.

* * *

Kakashi couldn't help but laugh when he saw Gai that day. A full-bodied laugh, laugh, _laugh _in his face that left the usually unfazed Gai looking extremely nonplussed. And there were his students, or rather ex-students with him, too. Kakashi couldn't help himself! He full-out giggled, much in the same way he had used to laugh at his Icha Icha books, before Sakura had beaten it out of him.

"What is it, rival?" Gai had asked/yelled/bellowed/sung. Take your pick, Kakashi wasn't listening too hard.

"Nothing, nothing," Kakashi waved his book like he was waving off a remark. "An inside joke."

"I love jokes!" Lee had piped up then, looking hideously alike to Gai in the 'good ol' days' when they'd been kicking Rock-nin ass at twelve. Which he could laugh about now, he supposed, seeing as it was much easier to be a genius when you were thirty-something, instead. Kakashi managed to stop laughing and say to Lee, "I don't think you'd get this one, Lee-san."

His eternal-rival looked too confused to say anything to that and simply proclaimed his rival's back, "EFFORTLESSLY COOL!" as Kakashi sauntered away. He would never eat the god-awful diet that Gai kept his students on, the poor things queuing by that disgusting health store with it's protein shakes and it's freshly stewed vegetables. He had long ago given up trying to feed his own students healthy things, with Sakura wolfing down chocolate whenever Sasuke rejected her, Naruto and his constant stream of ramen and Sasuke being far too obsessed with revenge to attempt such a mundane thing as eating. Kakashi buried his nose in his book and placidly turned a page so he could ignore Ebisu's smarmy call of hello. He liked being himself. Only the copy-nin Hatake Kakashi could get away with such things as erotic literature in busy public places or ignoring high-ranking ninja in broad daylight. A lot of the civilians thought him a bit unhinged, endearingly so of course, because you knew how some of those prodigies could turn funny, you understand. Just look at the Uchihas, they would say, and blah, blah, blah; although Kakashi was willing to agree to that point because no one could take home the crazy trophy quite like Madara could.

Briefly he thought about returning to Sakura's house and seeing if Tenten was still there. He didn't want her to recognise him, not just yet, and had been relieved when she'd simply stared at him blankly that morning. Actually, he had been a little bit aroused to have such an intimate awareness of her body without her knowledge. She had said good morning to him in a bland, sleepy-eyed voice with no idea that it was _him _who had made her cry out in pleasure last night. That it was him, who had listened to her, touched her and tasted her. Kakashi flicked another page of his book and wondered how long it would take for her to find him out. What her reaction would be...

He hadn't meant to do anything originally. He had heard someone shout at Naruto in the other room, which had amused him. And no, he didn't usually hide out under tables at parties, but that was probably because he didn't go to them. Sakura had dragged him there and he had watched for half an hour or so in disgust as all sorts of young, lively shinobi had sauntered in, with most of them probably just over half his age. And then Yamanaka Ino had oozed up to him and offered him a strong bottle of some sort of spirit with a wink and asked him to drain it so they could all play 'spin the bottle'. As if he would fall for such a see-through attempt to see his face. He had gone out into the corridor and drained it, feeling he was going to need it, and enjoyed the burn of some forty-percent alcohol slide down his throat. Alcohol was good these days. The mask was pulled up again and he'd managed a surprisingly straight walk back into the living-room, before saluting Sakura and Ino and toddling off to read his porn and grab more of whatever that drink was. Sakura, yes he was embarrassed to admit it, had blackmailed him into coming to her house-warming-but-also-a-birthday party, (_no party? I guess when Naruto publishes that book Jiraiya-sensei never finished, _you _won't be the first to read it.)_, and he held fast to his promises.

The drink had been found, even if Kakashi had had to taste quite a few of the bottles to find out what it was he had drunk in the first place (that was his excuse and he was sticking to it), and then he realised he really was a bit too drunk. A bit too drunk to be out and about near a scheming Yamanaka and a waiting Sakura (really, the only reason Sakura wanted him drunk was so she could undress him... his face, that was), Kakashi had retired to the kitchen. Beneath the table, for no real reason, other than it was dark and he'd have time to pull up his mask should anyone come in.

Then Tenten had come in and (never let it be said that Kakashi didn't make an impact) practically bust her head open after meeting him. He hadn't known who she was in the darkness and it was rather whimsical of him to refuse the light to be turned on. Although later on he had realised that he was indeed embarrassed; about his age, about his lack of sobriety and about being _the _copy-nin Kakashi. It had been exciting that she didn't know who he was, and that he didn't know her. It hadn't registered in his mind that Ino had been calling _her _Tenten until she introduced herself.

Gai's student.

Oh that would make him laugh even now! Kakashi ignored the strange looks some people gave him as he appeared to laugh at that 'filthy book he was always carrying around' with a slickness that only he was capable of.

He thought about making a detour to Obito's memorial. And Sai's. He hadn't gone yesterday, because he hadn't wanted to tell Sakura, essentially holding him hostage in her new place, that that was where he went. He had never liked Sai too much, he knew, and in some ways he was grateful that Sai was dead. Because otherwise it would have been himself, or Sakura, or even Naruto. And he was glad that the boy had learned to love before death took him, and that he had died completing what he wanted to do. Wasn't it better that he had died loving his team, with a real smile on his face?

Kakashi focused on his book and began to whistle behind his mask, even as his legs took him towards the familiar monuments that stood sentry in Konoha. He was always so maudlin after a night drinking. It wasn't right to dwell on things like that in a time of peace, but he was the copy-nin you know? He was allowed to be a bit crazy. Who else but him could still be handsome with a mask, read porn and seduce Gai's students? _Exactly._

He thought he spied Tenten racing across the roof-tops as he made his way to the freshly-carved names of the fallen. Perhaps he'd visit her later.

Was she thinking about him? Was she ashamed?

She'd looked prettier than he could remember that morning, with heavy-lidded reddish-brown eyes. For the little time she'd talked to him, she'd been pretty amusing. And, yes the infamous copy-nin pervert _was _a pervert, she had tasted sweet. Not innocent, but innocent, and he had loved he way her hands had tugged hard at his hair and the way she had demanded pleasure. He'd even liked the angry way she'd tried to tug his pants back down again, but Kakashi liked to savour things. And, even for him, having drunk, anonymous sex with Gai's student was going a bit too far.

Yeah, he'd visit her later. If only to flaunt that he could without her knowing who he was.

Kakashi ignored the fact that he was actually looking forward to their meeting and turned another page of his book.

* * *

"What do you mean you won't smell it? Smell it!" Tenten had demanded, aware that anyone who didn't know about Kiba's famous nose was going to think her crazy. She was still in her clothes from yesterday, tired, cranky and going crazy over her mystery. "Inuzuka!"

"I'm tired," he whined back, obviously feeling the after-effects of yesterday too. "Look! I'm standing in line for coffee, and I don't even drink the crap. I'm _that _tired, I have a mission this afternoon, you know? I'll smell it tomorrow."

Yes, people were going to think both of them crazy.

"You don't have to track him," Tenten replied, trying to sound threatening, although not much threat was needed when it was widely-known that Tenten could probably castrate a shinobi twenty feet away with five or so well-aimed throwing knives. "You just have to tell me who it is."

"I'm not some sort of scent-bank," Kiba had snapped back muttering "traitor," when Akamaru yipped a greeting to Tenten and nuzzled her hand for food. "Look," he leaned in and sniffed the vest, "I've smelt it now. If I bump into the guy, I'll recognise the scent and then I'll let you know, okay?"

That was the best she was going to get she supposed.

"Hey are those hickeys on your neck?"

Time to go, "bye Kiba, thanks anyway!" Tenten leapt for the roofs, finally intent on home. It had taken her too long to track him down, when the idea that he could help hit her, and she'd been living in constant fear for the past hour and a half of bumping into her sensei.

"Mornin' Ebisu-san," she called to the thin, lanky jounin when he nodded to her from the street and hoped she wouldn't bump into anyone who immediately required small-talk when they saw her.

She just wanted bath and bed really and maybe that awful civilian drama about those teams of shinobi from Suna. She'd missed the latest episode because of that party, the one where both Maara and Tankuro had confessed their love to Katsuri.

You know, those characters sure reminded her of someone... Not that she would have traded last night for a soap opera, even if she wasn't the most sociable person in the world. Tenten wished her front-door was on the building instead of inside it as she jumped back down to street-level and slipped through the front door with a tired, yet triumphant smile.

She really wasn't a sociable person, she thought, as she slipped inside the small, quiet bubble she called home. It wasn't exactly a place that screamed 'dinner party' with the ominous axes that hung on the walls (she wasn't strong enough to wield them... yet) along with the various photos of celebrities she didn't like and the hole-ridden dartboards that she used as target practice (though scoring top marks all the time lost its charm when you were known as the weapons mistress.)

Tenten showered quickly instead of bathed because she could never trust her boiler for that much hot water anyway. Then she flumped down on her sofa instead of the bed she'd promised herself and tried her hardest not to think about that man and what they could do together if only she could find out who he was.

And what if she got it wrong? What if she approached the wrong person entirely and propositioned them with sex? She wasn't that desperate, nor that much of a pariah, not yet.

.

.

.

Later on she woke up, a bit stiff from the sofa and frizzy-haired from the shower, but more or less content. They were playing the repeat of 'Days of the Desert', _hooray_, and she quickly settled down to watch.

"No, don't choose Tankuro!" Tenten found herself hissing at the TV some fifteen minutes later, as Katsuri cupped the puppet master's face. She physically stopped herself from brandishing the kunai that she always kept by her coffee table. She couldn't afford a new TV, again. "You don't even know what he looks like under all that!"

Moments after, she downright refused to appreciate the irony of that statement. There was a huge difference between what they'd done, anyway (and Tenten could admit that what she had done was bad, even compared to Katsuri).

There was a knock at her window and she wondered if it was Akane come to return those poison-refillable shuriken she'd borrowed for a mission, or Neji come to apologise for practically ignoring her last night (but it probably wasn't the latter). She thought nothing of opening her window to a ninja, because seriously, what real ninja actually used the door?

As it was it was neither. Or at least she didn't think it was and half pondered the idea that a bird had flown into the window, or something, because nobody was there. Were they? She could definitely sense someone. Tenten looked up, cursing when she realised the slightly richer flats above hers had balconies. Someone was sitting on the balcony above hers.

"Have you guessed yet?"

...it was _him_! _HIM _in big capital, neon letters, because she didn't have a name yet! That cheeky, rat _bastard_-

"No," she spat back at him, half-annoyed about her program being interrupted and half-aroused at the notion that perhaps he'd come back for a repeat performance. She balanced a foot on the windowsill getting ready to spring upwards for the balcony.

"Mah. If you try and see my face, I'll just escape, and then you'll never know who I am," the voice told her, its legs swinging over the balcony with an irritating amount of nonchalance. She stepped back inside her flat and decided to perch on the windowsill instead.

"What do you want?" she asked, feeling a bit stupid talking to a pair of sandals. If only she were a Hyuuga! Maybe she could hide Neji and have him use his Byakugan without her mysterious shinobi knowing. Although awkward questions would probably be asked, and she wouldn't want to answer them... "And how did you find my address?"

"Third clue," he replied, "I have enough rank to pull that I can have your file pulled out for me."

"Sounds like you get a bigger pay-cheque than me," Tenten bit back sweetly, filing way the information just in case, even though it didn't really tell her anything. "Buy me flowers next time, yeah?"

"Touchy," the voice remarked, sounding amused. "I wanted entertainment. It's very easy to talk to someone who has no idea who you are, hm?"

"You'll understand if I don't feel quite so open," Tenten replied, though she melted somewhat when he all but admitted wanting to talk to her. And he laughed softly at her reply and it was always nice to feel like _someone _got your humour.

"Thought about you today," the voice told her in a low voice that made her feel dizzy with desire, even if it was a lot more hesitant when sober. "Bumped into your sensei," he broke off into more laughter. God, she _knew _that voice from somewhere! "Did you think about me?"

"I had to," she replied, trying not to sound too eager. "You set me a challenge, after all."

"A challenge, is it?" he laughed again. Three times, in as many minutes, Tenten thought with satisfaction. She hadn't felt this funny since she'd fallen down half the stairs in the Hyuuga compound and Lee and Neji had just laughed at her.

"Care to make it interesting?" she teased back. "I find out who you are in one month and I get an extra special prize." Like a new axe. Or one of those morning-stars she couldn't afford, just yet. That would be a decent reward.

"No time-limit," he said back. "I want you to find me, eventually, you know."

His voice held so much promise, Tenten shivered, partly from the cool evening outside and partly from the way he spoke those words.

"Can I come in?" he asked her, "I have drink and nothing to do with it... and no missions lately. Just the grocery store and the memorial."

"I have a strict policy that involves knowing the name of everyone who enters my abode," replied Tenten although she couldn't deny being tempted. She saw the blue plastic bag of the grocery store down the road dangle temptingly by her mystery man's feet.

"Just shove your forehead protector over your eyes," he encouraged, "and I promise not to take advantage of you too much."

She couldn't believe she was doing this... but it was kind of fun, you know? It almost felt right. And there was something incredibly kinky about this stranger being near her whilst she was blindfolded... not that she would admit that.

Thanking herself for realising just that day, that guy wasn't omnipresent, Tenten slid off the windowsill and stole back into her room, a bundle of nerves. Would they just talk? Would they do more than they had last night? Wasn't that what she was working towards, anyway?

Tenten stopped asking herself questions and simply snatched her protector off her worn coffee table and slid it around her eyes, adjusting it slightly for comfort before she tied it tight. She would stay true to her word, if only because she knew that Kiba would probably find him for her in a matter of days.

"Okay!" she called out, trying not to feel stupid as she sat on her sofa with her headband round her eyes and attempted nonchalance. "Enter!"

She heard his almost silent feet touch down upon her windowsill and couldn't deny the electric stirs that jumped through her arms, legs, throat, chest—her entire _body_.

He took each step into her flat slowly, probably staring at the weaponry on the walls and the charity calendar of half-naked shinobi that some ninja of Konoha had laughingly produced to raise money for rebuilding and reconsidering his offer.

"I had to buy a new vest today, you know," the voice drifted towards her and she tensed as she felt the sofa go down slightly when he sat down next to her. "I hope you're worth the expense."

"I'll find you out eventually, Gai's friend," Tenten smirked back and let him press the cold weight of a beer in her hands.

* * *

**Not as long, I'm afraid. And I'll probably go back and edit it somewhat as it's not _quite _as well-written as I'd life. Thank you for the reviews :) I wanted to reply personally but I'm awkward XD even a thank you message is difficult! I'm glad the first chapter was enjoyed, though.**


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